Hey dude!
by Nico.Slade
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Alvin Seville is idling away some time at the mall when he is run into and knocked unconscious by Theodore Oscar, a twelve-year-old only child. When Alvin awakens after four days' lapse, he is visited by the younger boy, and a relationship develops between them. (else, what would be the point of the story? I ask you.).


Hey, Dude!

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TO all my Net Friends… please read this short intro…

The following is a story, work of fiction, a conceit of my imagination. It bears no connection whatsoever with any persons, places, or events in the 'real' world. Any similarities are coincidental. No copyright is reserved. Do with it as you wish… This story (it's not real. I made it up… I really did.) comprises a chronicle of some major events occurring in the protagonist's life that, due to their convergence and timing, have a seminal and beneficial effect upon his life and the lives of those he will touch, for the rest of his days. In this fictional, not-real story, some characters are depicted as adolescents, and some scenes contain descriptions of the expressions of their sexuality at the time in their lives in which this made-up story is placed. IF YOU are prohibited by ANY laws, canons, rubrics, philosophies, mores, religious beliefs or personal preferences, from reading material as described above, then you are advised to skip the ensuing fourteen (14) chapters of the work of pure fiction associated with this disclaimer.

IF YOU are below the age of majority in the jurisdiction within which you are reading this intro, you MUST obtain the permission of those responsible for you, before you may proceed to read the subsequent chapters of the story associated with this intro/disclaimer.

I trust you have been given enough information to form a mature opinion concerning whether or not to proceed further with the work of fiction that follows. The Author accepts all comments, replies are possible, no reposts will be sent to private e-mail, any destructive criticism, flames, moronic drooling, bigot-spew, &Tc, will go to the bit-bucket. (Now that it's getting into fall… I might print your flame and use it to light my fireplace… an appropriate activity, IMHO)

Thank you, truly! To those who have written to me; your comments and feelings have influenced the Current Work. The theme is: Love is Good, no matter what. Love always helps, in the long run. Love is not interested in artificial morality, bigotry, or misguided legislation. Love is sometimes rare, sometimes difficult, sometimes painful… but it always makes folks better, if it's the real thing. If you love, care for, or know of, a person who might (coincidentally) have similar feelings or characteristics to those of the beings depicted in this story… assure them that they are not alone! Assure them that there is someone for all of us out there… The world is Big and their life has unique meaning and frequently unexpected value.

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Alvin Seville caught sight of the three kids running toward him in the mall, but then he was distracted by a shop window with several dozen cool shoes. A high call from one of them returned his attention, and then they were twenty feet [6 m] from him, three boys of maybe junior high school age, running crazily through the crowd and laughing and shouting to each other. Ronny paused in front of the Warehouse outlet, trying to place the thump of the dance tune playing loudly within.

Then, there was a strange fluttering noise followed by a 'FFRTHRUMP' and a muffled shriek… and next thing he knew he was watching the vaulted glass and structural beams of the mall roof glide silently past him. He could not hear anything, and the floor seemed oddly soft. He was very, very tired, but… if he went to sleep, would he be home in time for dinner? And Mom would really be pissed…

The ceiling was different all of a sudden. Now it was low and light grey, though the floor under him was still soft like a bed. He tried to shake his head to clear it, but something was holding him down, and his neck hurt like a son of a bitch. Oh Jesus Sweet Christ… what time is it? Mom's gonna have a fit…

"Well, young man. Awake at last?"

A strange man's voice spoke to him from somewhere outside his rather vertical line of vision.

"Sure I'm awake, what's going on, where…" But all that came out was a really scary croak, like the noise the assistant demon would make in the bad sci-fi pictures he loved to rent.

"Just give it some time, Alvin, it'll come back slowly."

He, with supreme effort, turned his head over about ten degrees and located the voice. A man he'd never seen was standing over him, by his bed. But, but, it wasn't his bed, this wasn't his house… panic rose like a whirlwind. The man came at him! Ron tried to get away, but he couldn't move, he couldn't talk, he was gonna cry, oh, no…

"Alvin!" the man sort of barked at him.

"Hhhhu," he gasped.

"Do you know where you are?"

"S…s...s...scared…"

"Don't be scared, son. do you remember anything?"

"Mom."

"You remember your mom, Alvin?"

"Yeh. Wher' she…?" He was starting to get the hang of talking with this tube up his nose…

"She's gone home for the evening, but we'll call her in just a sec, kiddo. You're in a hospital. Do you remember getting here?"

A HOSPITAL… A HOSPITAL… What am I doing in a hospital, where'd the mall go, where are those kids… Ron stared at the man, completely stunned for the first time in his life. "Whhhaaatt, what, wh…" Tears began in his eyes. Sixteen-year-old boys were expressly forbidden to cry in public, but he had forgotten that. Along with a number of other things, it seemed.

"Someone ran into you at the mall last weekend, and when you fell you cracked your noggin a good one on the sidewalk. You've been sleeping since you were brought here. I'm Doctor Martin; I'm a neurologist that Dr. Penzsman called in. You remember any of the last four days?"

FOUR DAYS! FOUR DAYS! NO FUCKIN' WAY, DUUDE! "I remember the kids," he whispered. "They were running, then there was this noise, then I could see the roof of the mall, and now I'm here," He was really trying not to cry, but Ronald needed his Mom more than any boy on the planet just then, and she wasn't there, and he was utterly terrified.

"The Oscar boy ran into you and knocked you backwards. Like I said, you bumped it pretty hard on the way down. I'm going in to phone your parents, be right back."

"Whh… what time is."

Dr. Martin checked his watch. "It's two-thirty AM, kiddo."

"Well, she's sleeping," he whispered, still completely disconnected from the present reality. "Don't wake 'em."

"Alvin, if I waited till later to call them, your Mother'd have my ass and my license, in that order. I'll be right back."

He tried to think, tried to feel where four days had gone. But there was nothing, no sense of time, nothing at all, between then and now. "Fucking weird shit, man," he thought to himself.

"Alvie, honey, you awake…?"

Mom was always bugging him to get up. "Sure, Mom, I'm fine, except it's two-thirty or something." Relief flooded him.

"Um, no, dear, it's nearly four, you must have dozed off again. You feel alright, Darling?"

"Mommy, is he talking?" Darcie was here, too, but Ron couldn't see her.

"Sure he is," said Dad's voice. "HI, Squeaks, what's up?"

Dad was here; but he hadn't called him 'Squeaks' in more than five years. Darcie snivelled and buried her face in Mom's dress.

"Nothin', Dad. This is real weird. I lost four days." They were standing around the bed. The familiar faces seemed to give him strength. It was starting to make some sense now. The running kids had knocked him down, and he had hit his head. Okay, I can deal with this.

"Good morning, again, young man." Dr. Martin was here, too. "Let's sit you up and see how you're doing…"

So it went for the next day, into the evening. They cut him loose, drew out the tubes, fed him some soup. Mom and Dad stayed around, and then Dr. Martin asked him if he wanted to try walking. They helped him out of the high hospital bed, and after a wobbly start, he managed to make it to the bathroom on his own. He had been pissing in a tube for five days, and it was a relief not to have to be helped.

"I wanna go home, Doc. I need to get home" he said, after his folks left to get some rest.

"I think tomorrow afternoon, we'll let you out of here. How's your focus?"

Alvin glanced over at the books on the table. After a moment, they pulled in sharp. "Better, Doc, it only takes a sec, now."

"Alright, kiddo, I've other patients. You get back in the sack and get some more sleep, and we'll start processing you tomorrow. Cool?"

"Way Cool!" That was the little game they had been playing all day; 'Cool? /Way Cool!' Doc wasn't such a bad dude. Alvin climbed up into bed, and was overwhelmed by dizziness for a moment. He stayed on his hands and knees till it passed, then rolled the blanket over him and slept. He even dreamed, this time.

He had been awake for some while, and it was about ten thirty on Friday morning. Dr. Martin walked in with some papers. "How do you feel for some visitors, kiddo, Cool?"

"Sure, Doc, fine, you know that."

Dr. Martin sat on the edge of the bed and gave him a grave look. "Alvin, the boy who accidentally ran into you is here with his parents. You okay with that?"

"Well, um, sure, Doc, he didn't mean to…"

"They're absolutely scared shitless, Al, especially the boy. Be real nice and gentle to them, this isn't easy. You sure you want to see them?"

"Yeah, no problem, Doc. He didn't mean it."

"Okay, Alvin. The boy's name is Theodore Oscar. He's twelve and very, very nervous. Be patient with him. Cool?"

"Way Cool!"

They must have been right outside. A couple and a kid walked in. Alvin stared at the boy. For a minute, he thought it was the kid on Home Improvement, Jonathan what's-his-name. He had the same hair, cut the same way, the same dimples, the same eyes… God, his eyes were cute. Alvin was suddenly very aware of how long it had been since he had beaten off… five days: a record!

They shuffled up to him. No one was smiling, so Ronny did his best. He stuck out his hand to the man. "Hi, I'm Alvin Seville."

The man took it. "I'm Greg," he said. "Greg Oscar. This is my wife Carla and our son Theodore." 'Who did this to you…' Ron could hear them thinking.)

"Hi, Theo!" He said as warmly as he could. Greg pushed the cowering youngster closer to the bed. The boy's hands were twisted together and his thin shoulders hunched up. A stray lock of golden brown hair skewed out from underneath the strap of his baseball cap. He met Ron's gaze for a second and then went back to staring at the floor.

"Theodore, say hello to Alvin," said his Mom.

"…hi…"

"Theo, dude, I'm okay, okay? I'm goin' home this afternoon; I'm goin' back to school Monday. You didn't mean it…"

The boy's marvellous clear Green eyes rose to his for another moment. His chin quivered, his teeth chattered for an instant and then he tried to speak.

"I… I'm so, so sorry, I'm so sorry, I…awwwww…" He went to his knees beside Ron's bed and started to bawl. Both parents bent down to pick him up, still crying piteously. "…s-s-s-sorry, s-sorry…" he whimpered.

Ron reached over and got the kid's sleeve in his hand. "Hey, Theo?"

"…hick! Y-yeahhh…?"

"Theo, you wanna be friends?"

"I dunno."

"You think I hate you?"

"I dunno."

"You don't gotta apologize, Theo, you didn't mean to, didja?"

"If Theo hadn't been running in a crowded mall, none of this would be happening!"

Theo responded to his mother's unnecessary observation by starting to cry all over again. Al knew how to handle parents. "Um, Mr. and Mrs Oscar, could I talk to Theo for a minute?"

"Of course Alvin."

"Um, like, private, for a minute…?"

The man and woman looked at each other. "Sure," the father said. Then it was just the two boys.

"Dude, yer takin' this way too hard, it's just an accident, and I'm okay, now, I'm fine. I really am! We can be friends, maybe, cool?"

"I'm twelve…" whispered Theo, shaking his head.

"I'm sixteen and a quarter," said Alvin.

"How can we… how can we be friends? I'm a kid…"

"Dude, chill, okay? I kinda like you."

"You don't even know me; I could be a complete dork!"

"Naw, I can tell. If you want, we could be friends. It's up to you."

Alvin had Theodor's interest. The boy looked puzzled. "What would we do?"

"Well, I could take you places in my car."

"You gotta car?"

"It's my Dad's, but I can use it. We could trade cool games. What kind of computer you got?"

And so it went. Fifteen minutes later, when Theo's parents came back in to collect him, the two kids were chatting like they had grown up together. Theodore didn't want to leave. "Mom, five more minutes, pleeeease" he whined.

"No, Theodore, Alvin has to get ready to go to his house. You can maybe talk to him later. Say goodbye, now."

"Um, Alvin? I gotta go. You sure I can call you? I wanna see your computer and your R.C. racers."

"Call me Saturday, Theo, okay? Nice meeting you, Mr. and Mrs Oscar. I know it was just an accident, no one's to blame."

They said goodbye and turned to go. Just as they left and the door was closing, Mr. Oscar said something sharply to Theodore and his mother slapped him, really hard, across the face. Shocked, Alvin heard the boy wail and begin to sob loudly. Then the door shut tight. The persistent image and the remembrance of what had happened in the hall completely doused the exquisitely hard boner he'd popped beneath the blanket, just from being near to so adorable a boy as Theodore. "I gotta help that kid," thought Alvin. "They're bein' mean to him, and it wasn't his fault. I gotta help him…"

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My first Alvidore I hope you enjoyed it


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